


Factions: Eyes Open

by AdrianMordis



Series: Factions [2]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Shingeki no Kyojin Fusion, Attempted Murder, Bertolt, Berwick, Childhood Memories, Cults, Drama, Gangs, Ghosts, Kidnapping, Memories, Multi, Nightmares, Supernatural Elements, Winter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-05
Updated: 2013-12-05
Packaged: 2018-01-03 09:37:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1068922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdrianMordis/pseuds/AdrianMordis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bertholdt begins his search for familiar faces in hopes of bringing things back together after a long absence and a few turns away from home. Accompanied by his childhood friend Berwick he stumbles upon a new point of interest and gets caught by the security.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Factions: Eyes Open

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sharmanat0r](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sharmanat0r/gifts).



> Welcome to Bert based point of view. This is really strange to write so bear with me ok? Also, please excuse Original Characters I need them for the story to make sense *hat tip* carry on.
> 
> Painful Painful thing to write -_-'

He stood silently in the baren courtyard under a soft curtain of snow that held him tenderly in a frozen embrace. His eyes were closed as Bertholdt listened to sound of the snow falling softly on the world around him. Allowing himself a small peace and the ability to ignore the bantering thoughts of others that weaved in and out of his ears. 

"We should keep moving," I said softly stuffing my hands in my pockets and exhaling a low warmth of a sigh. I looked over to him as he lowered a twitch of an eyebrow. He huffed quietly at my comment saying nothing. 

"Go away," he whispered bending the corners of his mouth into a small frown. I shrugged, rolling my shoulders forward against the heavy constraints of my wool coat and leather vest inspiring a small friction that warmed my heavy back. 

"Bert," I said softly, "What are you looking for here anyways?" I gestured with my body, in a smooth lean, to the silent confines of the ancient school we had traveled to in frustrated awkwardness. 

He exhaled sharply cracking an eye open to stare at me unforgivingly. I waited for an answer tilting my head forward to allow my dark blonde bangs to stab into the scene of my vision. He closed his eyes again ignoring my quizzical expression. _Don't ignore me._ Bert twitched and turned around glaring at me sharply. I smiled at his olive green eyes and how the black muffler scarf covered his mouth and the tip of his nose. 

"Berwick, I told you before he have to find them,"

I furrowed my brow at _Them._ My frustration tasted like metal against the roof of my mouth. My teeth ached with a sharpness of cavity rot. The thought of  _them_ spun my core in a twisted murk of numbing water. I gave him a sharp look as my retaliation was forming words against my tongue. All these years and he still begged to protect those who didn't care. Rising the hackles of my frustration I began to speak but paused. There was a sweetness to the air in a sweeping suddenness. My tongue tasted of caramelized brown sugar against ice and crystal. _Kindness,_ the word whispered through my mind like a feather that landed softly on my subconscious.

"W-What is it?" Bert asked nervously. His guard of annoyance was crumbling at the sudden realization that I was distracted by a presence he had not yet noticed.

"Sh!" I pointed a finger bidding him silence. I closed my eyes at the sudden sensation of warmth and humility that glowed from a distance. Someone or something was near. I inhaled deeply taking in a light smell I couldn't identify. Something close to Wassail and cider.

"He's here," I whispered lifting my head to glance at Bertholdt. He narrowed his eyes trying to understand. Tilting my head I pointed out a window with a slow abstract gesture. Bert raised at eyebrow and looked around before catching on the window I meant. His willowy body froze under the distressed long coat that brushed against his ankles. Observing his eyes and the way the pupils flickered in size I knew he understood what I had meant. Standing above us the softest creature we both had seen in a long time watched us with curiosity. Bertholdt relaxed his body against the warmth, unconsciously pressing into it's invisible border. His shoulders sloped and fell slightly as he took in the senses I had experienced earlier. My eyes fell over him as he enjoyed this momentary fragment of wintery bliss. He had grown so much over the passed few years I had known him. His fist tightened in the depths of his pocket. I raised an eyebrow at the movement as a pang of concern stabbed into my chest. A welling up of warmth was stirring with a sharp buzzing of aggression.  

"Bert," I called shallowly. His bicep twitched. Looking closer, a small glow of gold whisped from his hand and into the air like a tiny hair of a thread. My eyes followed the glow from Bertholdt to the window. Biting my lip, I hoped that the victim of his sudden attraction was strong enough to remain conscious through such a sudden alteration of energy and concentration. I placed a hand on his shoulder startling him from his fixation, therefore forcing him to let the poor connection go. 

"Leave it be for now." 

His eyes snapped away from the window. A look of confusion plagued the purity of the green in his eyes. 

"Come. We can keep looking and try to find-" I smiled but the next word lodged in my throat like a small watery trap, "Them. We'll see if we can find them," 

Bertholdt nodded with his eyes and straightened up to his full height of 6' 2". Our attentions both snapped back to the figure in the window who seemed mildly taken back. Bert bowed his head in a silent apology and turned away. 

"You really shouldn't get carried away Bertholdt. What's gotten into you all of a sudden?" The question spilled from my mouth before I could consciously reconstruct my thoughts into words. He fiddled with the softness of my muffler as he wandered away from the courtyard and into another section of the outside campus. Bert furrowed his brow in nervousness. 

"I-I don't know." He said slowly forcing the answer out of his dry lungs through his anxiety. 

"Go on," I nudged holding a look of interest on my face. He pulled his face into a nervous smile and looked at me. 

"I-I, I just felt like I needed to protect something and never let it go," 

I hummed lowly to myself and rolled is words around the memory of his reaction. Rubbing my chin thoughtfully I failed to see the connection.

"But, Bert." I reconsidered the taste of my words, "There was a sense of aggression that came from you. Did someone do something around him?" The question made little sense to me as it fell to the ground with a slight plop. He looked away with a bashfulness and peaked over his shoulder at the building behind. His loud sigh graced the world with warmth melting a snowflake in mid-fall.

"He felt so cheated," he mumbled shrugging his shoulder up to cover his ears with the muffler and the collar of his jacket, "Misused I guess. I don't know Berwick. You know that my experiences are still very abstract."

I agreed with a small pushing up of my lower lip and a head roll. I decided to lift the mood with a, "We should ask Henah about it the next time we see her." He chuckled warmly and kicked a gathering of fresh snow.

"That would be nice,"

I smiled happily, now proud that I was still able to bring a glimmer of joy into Bertholdt's darkened world. Despite the sinking feeling that landed in the pit of my stomach I tried to ignore my condition and the sensation of him slowly floating away from me. Our encounter with the window sent a pang of uneasiness down my spine. This person, this creature, that had captivated him so suddenly weighed heavily on my dead heart. I watched him walk silently by my side as we crossed another courtyard. The slope of his nose in profile brought me to a joy I could only describe as a distant out of body experience. The warmth of a childhood cut short, and the rolling in of a dark tempest. My eyes snapped shut involuntarily as a dark force shoved the memory through my head and into my eyes, squeezing it through. 

_A fire place roared in the corner as a small infantile Bertholdt sat patiently on a heavily decorated rug. He was wrapped loosely in a dark green blanket that billowed out from under his small two year-old body. I was looking in through a window, perched haphazardly on a snowy sil. My six year-old fingers frozen to the cold stone and wood. Eugene crouched next to me, a healthy eight years with gypsy brown skin and burning green hazel eyes. His mouth was a flatline in contrast to his soft pinked cheeks._

_"What are we waiting for?" I asked looking over to my strong elder. Eugene's mouth merely twitched in response and the dark hunting scowl on his face grew deeper. His eyes narrowed as he hunched down lower. I continued to stare thinking up a question as loudly as my mind could scream._

_"Hush! He'll hear you!" I hadn't said a word but the thoughts were loud enough. Eugene gave me a disciplinary glare. We turned our attention back to the small child as his mother appeared in the corner of the room. My eyes wandered over her brilliant but tired appearance. Clad in heels and a fine form fitting red dress she looked ready for a night on the town. Her hair, a lovely cherry wood brown, was swept up into a casual french twist. Her dark eyes were decorated simply, but dark circles bored into her creamy Italian facade. Bertholdt looked up his body shivering slightly under the blanket. Their eyes met and she placed a tired looking hand upon her hip. There was a small smile that cut into her face as she mouthed something to her small child. Bertholdt stood clumsily raising his hands up to her like any child would in hopes of comfort. Taking off her heels, she made a small glance to the fire and moved towards him. Eugene snarled quietly as the mother and child exchange continued before us._

_"What?" I asked feeling a swell of hatred and uncertainty rise in my gut and spine. Eugene pulled a brick out from the small bag he had slung across his body. My eyes widened as he posed it in his hand testing the weight and readying his body to throw it._

_"Eugene!" I exclaimed quietly reaching to knock it out of his hand. His sharp eyes held me in place. His teeth bared and nose poised in a low snarl. I stopped and continued to watch. Bertholdt rested in his mother's breast as she rocked and bounced gently. She was mouthing something, possibly singing, to him. my eyes narrowed as I tried to hear what she was saying._

_"Worthless bitch," a hiss wafted next to me. She lifted Bertholdt up into the air with a wicked smile on her rosy lips. She spun around dancing across the room holding him above her head. Eugene's grip tightened on the brick as she wrapped the small child in the blanket again and held him tightly to her body. She looked around the room then moved to the hallway to check that the huge house was empty. I watched her leave the room and lock the front door. She returned cuddling her child and carrying an expensive bottle of brandy in one hand. She took a deep swig throwing her head back to let the liquid slide down her throat. Her lips released the air tight seal against the crystal and drenched them both in alcohol. Kissing the top of Bertoldt's head she danced around the room again and toppled into the fire. I screamed clasping my hands tightly around my mouth as I watched their bodies instantly combust. The fire reached out into the room as her heavy body rattled the coals and logs beneath her. Eugene threw the brick in a fury of shattering glass and angered screaming. Tears were welling in my vision as the heat and pain filled writhing burst through my body. The offended gypsy grabbed the burning woman's ankles and pulled her out of the fire. Ripping the screaming child from her arms he cast the flaming blanket to the floor and checked Bertholdt's body. The woman screamed in agony and contempt. Still alive and furious she tried to rise from the flames and reclaim her kin. Eugene covered the small boy's face and kicked back into the hellish flames she had caused. Running across the room he snatched a large coat off the coat rack and wrapped himself with in it's warm folds._

_"RUN!" His voice was distant as the horror of the scene continued to molest my thoughts. He leapt out the window holding the crying child. I jumped down to follow._

_"It's ok. We can go home now. We can go home." I grabbed the tail of the huge coat and ran after him tears streaming down my face. Eugene looked on, face unscathed my innocence and emotional expression._

_  
_I snapped a hand to my mouth feeling the burning explosion of stomach acid breaching into my throat. Bertholdt grabbed me my the arm and led me to a small collection of bushes. My hand fell from my face as I purged into the snow. We watched me sadly for a short moment before looking around to make sure no one had heard us.

"Sorry. I'm sorry," I choked rubbing clean my face with a collection of fresh snow. His worried eyes landed on my tortured face. I stood up slowly, flinching at the stabbing pain in my stomach. He patted me on the back and gently pushed me forward to move out of the bushes. 

"I'm Okay," 

He patted me on the back and we continued on our search. The memory had faded and the feeling of dread and sadness had faded. Bertholdt looked around now realizing that we were horribly lost. 

"Oi!" The word echoed through the dark chamber of the archway we stood under, "What are you doing here?" We both turned in surprise as a tall thin security guard moved towards us. I threw my hands up in submission. 

"S-Sorry, we're just looking for someone!" I responded as he came closer. 

"I said, What are you doing here? Answer me?" 

My face fell along with the useless muscle I used to call a heart. Bertholdt held his hands up as well. 

"Sorry Sir. We didn't mean to disturb anything. We're looking for someone named Reiner." Bert blurted out in a panic. The man stopped to ponder the answer. Bert held his position trying to hide behind me. The guard moved forward and took a hard hold of Bertholdt's arm. He stood frozen in place as Berwick vanished from his vision and the intimidating aura of the security guard filled the entire space of his vision. 

"I'm Sorry," Bertholdt choked as tried to pull away and sink into the snow beneath him. Six glowing eyes squinted down at him in frustration. The dark body of backwards and sideways feathers rose above him. Bertholdt collapsed to the ground trying to cover his eyes and wishing Berwick back to protect him from what he was seeing. 

Hannes let go and took a step back confused by the sudden outburst.

"Hey hey, I'm sorry," _«Hharos Vectipoat»_

Bertholdt cringed.

"You ok?" _«Vennine Sceract?»_

Hannes lowered himself to Bertholdt's level and stared at him with worry. Bert peered through a gap in his arms watching the six eyes fall on him. The dark smoke covering the feathered form began to dissipate.

"You said you're looking for Reiner Right?" _«Es Seneh Behn Reiner Ka?»_

Bertholdt gave him a small nod still hiding behind a wall of legs and arms. Hannes rubbed the back of his head through his security beanie and sighed.

"Alright, come with me. You're not supposed to be here but I can make a small exception," Bert sat up straighter as the language suddenly changed. Berwick stood next to him again and gave him a small nod.

"You know Reiner?" Bert sad quietly getting up slowly as the form infront of him began to alter and morph into a human being. Hannes shook his head in response but offered a nervous smile.

"I don't but I know someone who does. Come we'll get you a hot chocolate or something while we find him for you ok?"

Bertholdt nodded again and got up to follow. Hannes clicked something through his radio and unlocked a door illuminated by a single yellow light bulb sheltered by a black wire cage. He motioned Bert to enter and gave him a weak smile. Bert looked over his shoulder in an attempt to find Berkwick who had vanished yet again. He moved forward and stepped into a surprisingly plush sitting room decorated by a single couch, coffee table, and mini kitchen. Hannes closed the door behind them and bid Bertholdt to sit down and relax.

"Do you like Coffee? Or will some Hot Chocolate do the trick?" Hannes spoke as he shoot off his coat and hung it up on a small hanger next to the door. Bert sat down softly on the couch still wrapped in his long coat.

"N-No coffee please,"

Hannes nodded and moved around the couch to the small kitchen area. Bertholdt forced his eyes shut and took in a deep breath trying to steady his nerves.

 _Where did you go Berwick? Please, please don't leave me here._      


End file.
